[ @publication =] 'publication'
Is the name of the publication. Publication is sysname, with no default.

[ @article =] 'article'
Is the name of the article in the publication. article is sysname, with no default.

[ @column =] 'column'
Identifies the columns on which to create the vertical partition. column is sysname, with a default of NULL. If NULL and @operation = N'add', all columns in the source table are added to the article by default. column cannot be NULL when operation is set to drop. To exclude columns from an article, execute sp_mergearticlecolumn and specify column and @operation = N'drop' for each column to be removed from the specified article.

[ @operation =] 'operation'
Is the replication status. operation is nvarchar(4), with a default of ADD. add marks the column for replication. drop clears the column.

[ @schema_replication=] 'schema_replication'
Specifies that a schema change will be propagated when the Merge Agent runs. schema_replication is nvarchar(5), with a default of FALSE.

Note

Only FALSE is supported for schema_replication.

[ @force_invalidate_snapshot = ] force_invalidate_snapshot
Enables or disables the ability to have a snapshot invalidated. force_invalidate_snapshot is a bit, with a default of 0.

0 specifies that changes to the merge article will not cause the snapshot to be invalid.

1 specifies that changes to the merge article may cause the snapshot to be invalid, and if that is the case, a value of 1 gives permission for the new snapshot to occur.

[ @force_reinit_subscription = ]force_reinit_subscription
Enables or disables the ability to have the subscription reinitializated. force_reinit_subscription is a bit with a default of 0.

0 specifies that changes to the merge article will not cause the subscription to be reinitialized.

1 specifies that changes to the merge article may cause the subscription to be reinitialized, and if that is the case, a value of 1 gives permission for the subscription reinitialization to occur.

An identity column cannot be dropped from the article if automatic identity range management is being used. For more information, see Replicate Identity Columns.

If an application sets a new vertical partition after the initial snapshot is created, a new snapshot must be generated and reapplied to each subscription. Snapshots are applied when the next scheduled snapshot and distribution or merge agent run.

If row tracking is used for conflict detection (the default), the base table can include a maximum of 1,024 columns, but columns must be filtered from the article so that a maximum of 246 columns is published. If column tracking is used, the base table can include a maximum of 246 columns.